Have you ever tried on a zillion things in the AM because nothing seemed to match that day? I know I’ve been there and afterwards my closet is a total disaster and I usually still don’t feel super confident about my outfit.

So yesterday I sat down and made a list of my favorite classic, yet untraditional, mismatched outfits and then summarized why each of them work. I did this for me personally so I wont bore you with each outfit, but I will show you what I realized about this outfit while writing about it yesterday.

What I noticed about this outfit:

The navy blue blazer is echoed by the blue jeans and the bluish tinted/black tote.

The ‘Non’ sweater works because it draws out some of the red/pink of the flowers and some of the detailing in the cranes. The writing on the sweater also mimics the same color family as the boots.

Adding a saturated pink lip also helps echo the pinks and reds of the outfit.

The black tote (with a bluish iridescent hue in some light) matches the timex wristwatch and ties that color back into the whole look.

If I could boil the above list down to a three step process it would look like this below.

3 steps to create a cutely mismatched outfit:

pick a quirky item that you don’t know how to wear.

pull a few other things to wear with it that have similar colors, even if the patterns don’t match.

add a few accessories that either set off the items or that also compliment colors from the first piece.

generally I think it’s a good idea to work in groups of three for accessories like matching your handbag, belt, and watch.

Here’s a more detailed list of ways to match untraditional items. Feel free to skip the following if you think you get the idea from the 3 step list above.

How to create the perfect mismatched outfit:

Start with an item that you’re really excited to wear that day. It could be a pair of pants, a skirt, a top, or a dress.We will call this the Base Item.

Usually I find it easiest to start with a shirt I want to wear that day.

Figure out what other types of items you will need to put with the Base Item to complete the outfit. Do you need pants, a shirt, or tights? You will probably need one or two more major items (in my case above I needed pants and a sweater to go with the blazer) to finish off the outfit so we will call these the Secondary Item(s).

Consider: What would be most appropriate, most comfortable, or fitting for that day? Then decide what color or texture matches the Base Item for all of your Secondary items.

Other than color, another important thing to think about when choosing your Secondary Item(s) is texture. If one item is smooth and silky, maybe consider something fuzzy or textured to add more interest.

Hint: a blazer like mine would look really good over a chunky cable knit sweater too.

When trying to match quirky pieces pick up on one accent color in the Base Item and use that throughout the rest of your outfit like how I used the pinkish hue in the flowers in my sweater, lip color, and boots.

Mixing navy and black….. ouch! But is that really so bad? Who says they look that bad together? In my opinion the only reason to heed this traditional fashion faux pas is when you don’t realize you’re mixing navy & black.

My fix is to simply know what colors you are wearing and balance them out. Because I wore blue jeans and a navy blazer I felt free to add two black accessories.

That’s basically all I have for that as of right now so now I will show off my Wolfiegang 🙂

That is lipstick on his left cheek. I can’t not smooch those cute cheeks!

Sorry, I know that was a long post, but hopefully you can take something away from it that will help clarify your matching goals and streamline your morning routine.

I hope everyone has a perfectly mismatched Monday!

Xo,

Kellie

P.S. I’ve been pinning budget ideas of what to wear for Christmas pictures, so check dress ideas and follow me on Pinterest here! That will keep you up to date when I post my top picks for Christmas picture outfit ideas in a week or two!